Gooooooood Morning my friends :)
Today is Wednesday and that means it is a PSALM day! Today's reading was of Psalm 31. The book asks us to read it silently, read it out loud, to write it by hand (this one is a long one!!), and to circle or highlight things that stick out to you. I think it asks this of us because different things may pop out in the different ways we work through these beautiful writings! It asks us which verse sticks out most, and for us to write that verse and keep it with us throughout the week. The one that stuck out most for me is the following: "How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world." Psalm 31:19 Initially, when I read that one silently, I didn't like this verse. I am not a fan of the "fearing God" thing. I think God has gotten a bad rap from us, in that we view him being angry with us and judging us...the whole "wrath of God" thing gets a lot of hype over the whole "unconditional love" part. Where I am in my walk with God, I don't view him as angry with me, nor do I view Him as someone I need to fear. So, on first read, I was like, eh not for me. But, when I read it aloud and then wrote it out, something changed. I looked at it not in the "goodness stored up for those who fear you" part, but more in the "lavish it on those who come to you for protection" part. God is our Father, who so longingly wants us to come to him. He is there to comfort us, to protect us...God is LOVE. A lot of times, I try to muscle life on my own and forget to lean on him. But, this verse made me rest in the fact He has all this goodness ready to lavish on me if I come to Him! It is a beautiful thing. This week, I am going to remember this all loving God that is ready to lavish me with His comfort, protection, and goodness. All I have to do is come to Him. I am thankful for that. What stuck with you from this Psalm? Please share :) Love, Kim
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Hello everybody!
Today's reading is about WORSHIP! Webster's Dictionary defines to worship as "to show honor with extravagant love and extreme submission." For me, I've always viewed worship as singing a few songs at church on Sunday mornings. But, this reading made me think about it in another way and I hope you will too! Worship can be almost ANYTHING we do, if we do it with a heart for adoring God. That means at soccer practice today, you can be "worshiping". Or at dance. Or reading your book at home. Or eating dinner with your parents. Literally, anything we do can be worship. When we make it our intention to serve God out of the love we have for him, we are living a life of worship. The Wake Up section of today's reading calls us to be mindful of our daily actions. If you are anything like me, I am rushing from one thing to the next until suddenly I realize the day is done! We are challenged today to pay attention to our lives and the decisions we are making. We can look to turn what we are already doing into worship. What are some ways you can live your life with a heart of worship? Excited to talk more about this idea, as I think it is a great one. Love, Kim Hello, and happy Monday friends! I hope you enjoyed a lovely weekend with our stellar weather--it felt like Summer! We are entering our second full week of Lent. I hope you have been able to hang in there with our readings. If not, that is ok. Catch up when you can, or just join us in today. Today's reading is about getting QUIET. Which, for a bubbly extrovert like me, is EXTREMELY HARD :) The scripture included in today's reading shows many examples where Jesus went to pray and be alone in the quiet of the wilderness. Jesus came to show us the way, and if he was constantly retreating to be in the quiet, we should certainly take note and see the value in why he chose to do this so often. Jesus unplugged from the noise and distraction of crowds in order to reconnect with God. Silence and being alone in the quiet are crucial to hearing from God. But, if you are anything like me, "unplugging" and creating this type of space is so incredibly hard. As the author says "When you're silent, you're forced to pay attention to what you usually drown out with talk or noise. When you're alone, you're forced to pay attention to what you usually cover up with being around other people." I'm super guilty of this. If I have a free moment, I stroll through Instagram, text a friend, play a silly game on my iPhone....literally do ANYTHING to fill in the time. When we unplug and get quiet on purpose, we are left with just us, and God. Sounds like a great thing to do, so why don't we?! The Wake Up section of today's reading challenges us to find some time each day this week to sit in true silence, and ask God to speak to you through it. I'm not one to sit and think God will speak to me in some booming voice, but to me He "speaks" to me through the new ideas or real feelings that come up through silence. Let's touch base on this at church on Sunday, I am interested to hear how this goes for you! Just "unplug" for even 5 minutes a day, you can do it :) Love, Kim Happy Weekend!
I really like that the focus of the readings change each day. On Saturdays, we are challenged to serve. Last week, it was serving our community. This week, we are challenged to serve OUR ENEMIES. Yikes! I guess it's kinda important since Jesus said that THIS is what sets us apart. Its simple to love someone who loves you back. (Simple, not easy) But to love someone who not only doesn't love you back, but actually HATES you?! That takes supernatural strength. Lucky us, we have the Holy Spirit within to take care of that for us :) You may have a clear idea of an enemy you have, or you may have to think on it for a while. Try to identify someone in your life that you find it very difficult to love. The reading offers up some ideas on how to serve and love your enemy today: -pray for them by name every day this week -offer to buy them lunch one day -go out of your way to truthfully compliment them -speak highly about them around others -extend an olive branch of forgiveness to them and try to mend your friendship We are called to do what we can this week to show love to our enemies and show mercy to those who persecute us. I think we can do it! What is one way that you can show love to someone you would otherwise not be caught dead being nice to? We're in this together. With love, Kim Happy Friday, my friends!
Included in today's reading is a sentence that really popped out to me: "Lent takes us on a journey through the hard parts of being human." I am glad the author phrased it this way, because so far we've talked about fasting, hell, sin and repentance. Not the cheeriest of subjects, I have to admit. But, viewed in this light, it is important to really dig into these concepts to more fully understand and appreciate GRACE and the reason why we celebrate Easter every year. Being a human being IS HARD. There are so many things every day, every hour, even every minute that challenge us. We can set out with the best of intentions to live a life like Jesus did, but when our day comes flying at us, we are tested minute over minute by choices. All day long we choose, and that is simply exhausting. When we choose well, things can go more smoothly. When we choose poorly, things can get bumpy. I liked the verses referenced in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:21-28) where it basically says when we turn from sin and do what is right, we will live. Remember Jesus came to give us LIFE IN THE FULL, and sometimes we forget that WE ARE THE ONES who get to make the choices that either give life, or not. I like the power that gives us. That's not to say if we always make the right choices, our lives will be all sunshine and rainbows. But, rooted in Christ, fueled by love, we will be able to weather whatever storms come our way just a bit more comfortably :) Another topic I found interesting in today's reading is His primary interest being in the state of our hearts. It's pretty easy for me not to murder anyone on a day to day basis. But, anger, that I feel on a daily basis. The passage in Matthew (Matthew 5:20-26) challenges me because it equates the sin of murder with the sin of anger. God is just as concerned with the attitudes in our hearts as he is with our actions. So, while it may be easy for me not to murder someone today, it will be challenging as all get out to not get angry. But I can remember that I CAN CHOOSE my attitudes. Can't control what happens, but can control how I react. Even having that in the back of my mind makes me feel more empowered to choose well. I hope some of this resonated with you as it did with me on this sunshine-y day! Love, Kim Good morning friends,
Today's reading gives us another challenge to look at our prayer life. It centered upon the passage from Matthew 7, but if you haven't already, I would recommend looking up the many others they have listed in the beginning of the post as well (Mark 11:24, Ephesians 6:18, James 5:13-16, Philippians 4:6). I was glad I did all that bible verse jumping after I did, as they all had a different thing to think about. Let's jump into Matthew 7:7-8. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Sounds pretty darn good to me, am i right? Ask and it is given to me? I have a long list... I like the way the author of the devotional ties it back to the reality of the verse. Its not "Dear God, I'd like to ask for a brand new car, a boyfriend, and a million dollars. Looking forward to it." Yeah, but no. It is Jesus reminding us that God knows what we need, and will always give us what is best for us. I believe this comes to life in asking for growth areas, or character traits. When I pray "help me be more patient with my kids," or "help me seek you first in all I do," God will give me the things I need to learn these things. That is me asking, and He will give. I don't get to choose WHAT he is going to give me, but he knows what is best for me, and will provide the learning experiences for me to grow into a more patient, more God seeking lady. Make sense? Another thing I love about this verse is that it reminds me that God is willing and ready to hear me, to welcome me where I am. An ask from me, me seeking, me knocking, is what he wants most from me. Me showing my desire for HIM and HIS way. It's a beautiful reminder of the relationship that is ready for us to cultivate any time, all the time. We are not alone! What about this verse strikes you? Have you noticed any differences in your prayer life since we've started talking about prayer? Love to you, Kim Oh happy day!
I really enjoyed today's reading of Psalm 51. Looks like every Wednesday, our reading will be in this format of reading, writing, and reflecting. And I DIG THAT. For those of you without a book to read from, you can participate! Here are the steps: read Psalm 51 silently. Read it aloud. Write it out. Circle words that stick out to you, and think of why those stick out. Find a verse you like best, and keep it with you this week. You ready for this?! Psalm 51 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar. AMEN! I would be very interested to hear your take away words, as well as the verse you will keep with you this week. So please share :) For me, I chose "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." I feel like if I'm in a crummy mood, it is usually because my spirit isn't in the right place. I love the idea of calling out to God to restore my joy and sustaining me through whatever it is I am facing! AMEN to THAT :) Love you all, Kim Hello my dear friends!
Hope you are enjoying this sunshine today as much as I am! I wanted to catch us back up to speed on our Lent readings and Tuesday's reading got lost in the shuffle of the week for me. What I liked most about Tuesday's reading was the idea of prayer ultimately being a conversation between you and God. I feel like I used to get hung up over the idea of having to set a certain time to pray, and worrying that I wasn't even praying right. Remember a few Sundays ago when we talked about how we treat God sometimes like a little prayer fairy? We pray "please let us make the soccer team" or "please make my parents stop fighting" or "please let me pass my drivers test," and then hope God sprinkles magic fairy dust over our situation and just makes it happen our way. Not. The. Case. Not only does God not work that way, but that's not the purpose of prayer. It's not a wish list of all the things we want God to do for us. It is a time for us to connect to LOVE, in that we can let that LOVE shine through us. God so eagerly wants us to call on him, but also just keep him with us. If I am thanking Him for things throughout my day, seeking advice from him, etc, that is PRAYER! Imagine texting with God. Let's be real, how often do you text/snapchat your best friend? Maybe 1,000 times a day?! Imagine texting with God. God doesn't have a phone, but He knows your heart and thoughts, so connect with him!!! Try it out, it's actually kind of nice to know you aren't alone. The Wake Up section of today's reading encourages you to pray in the way that works best for you (journaling, talking, praying quietly...). It doesn't matter HOW you do it, just THAT you do it. It also asks what obstacles keep you from communicating with God, and how you can overcome them? For me, I get too wrapped up in my tasks and the grunt work of my days, and forget to "plug in" to Him, my power source. I find that when I keep conversation with God through my day, the things in my day don't change, but my attitude and ability to get through the day DOES change :) Love, Kim Hi friends,
Have you ever had a case of the Mondays? After a nice long weekend, that gloomy feeling of starting your week with a cloud over your head. Hard to jump into the week. The first thing I did was read our Lent devotional, and BOOM, it was GLOOMY! But, after taking a few days to think about it, it is sitting with me a little better, and I'd like to share with you why! For those who haven't had the chance to read Monday's reading, it is about HELL. Always a fun topic of conversation, am i right?! The scripture the reading starts with is from Matthew, which we referenced in our last reading. (Matthew 25:31-46) God doesn't have hands and feet but we do, so we are called to love others in tangible ways. The portion of the scripture they added on in this reading goes on to say if we ignore that calling, we will "go away into eternal punishment." HARSH. After thinking over this idea for some time, I remembered something we discussed a few Sundays ago, about the idea of living "heaven" now. Jesus came to show us the way to live a life of love, when we follow that example and live that way, our lives blossom and fruit comes, and we live "heaven". Which leads me to think of hell in that same vain. Instead of concentrating on the SIN and the areas where I am failing leading me to certain and eternal doom, what if I looked at it as living "hell" now. If I ignore those in need, if I choose things out of pride and greed, if I ignore following in Jesus's example, my life won't blossom, I'll miss out on the "heaven" that I have access to in the here and now. Thinking of living in hell for eternity is too much for my brain to grasp right now. Thinking of making poor choices and the life that follows from those being more like "hell" than like "heaven" in the here and now, that I can grasp. The Wake Up section of the reading asks us to spend some time asking the Lord to help you understand the doctrine of hell, and why it is important. This is where that led me. To focus on the idea that I HAVE CONTROL over my actions. I'm not going to have control over some of the things that happen today, but I DO have control over what I do about it. If those choices follow in the example that Jesus gave, and I choose to act out of LOVE, my day has a better chance of feeling like heaven than hell. KINDA GLOOMY! What are your thoughts? When getting quiet with the idea of hell, what stuck with you? Sending you all a huge heavenly HUG! Love, Kim Hello friends,
I hope you had a lovely weekend. Did you see the random hail storms? Unbelievable! Peaceful sky, and then out of nowhere, hail! And not just a little. It was coming down with a vengeance! I wanted to get us all caught up on our Lent devotion book by briefly writing about Saturday and Sunday's readings. Saturday's was about serving the community around us, and how our readings this coming week will help us look for the opportunity to do so. We serve others to give glory to God. In Matthew 25, it talks about how God meets our needs all the time (hunger, thirst, clothes, shelter, etc) but we don't do that for him. Jesus replied "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Matt. 25:40 As you think about the community around you (family, friends, teachers, coaches, etc), I hope that you will consider thinking of serving others as a way to serve God. God can't come down and pick up the trash at your school, but he made someone who has hands and feet and is able to do it (hint: they also have two eyes that are reading this right this very second) (another hint: it's you) Sunday, we had our first Sunday of Lent. If you were able to join us yesterday, we read this reading together at church. It introduces us to the feast we are able to enjoy for our Lent practice. We rest from what we have taken on or given up for Lent. And remember, the feast is much sweeter since we have gone through the fast. Short and sweet for today. Thank you for taking this Lent journey with me. Love, Kim |
AuthorKim Labozzetta is the interim Director of Middle School and High School Student Life at The Quest. ArchivesCategories |